Testing for color vision problems is traditionally done by means of the Ishihara test (there are other more accurate tests, but they require very expensive equipment). The Ishihara test consists of a series of plates made up of variously colored dots. Numbers are formed by dots of different colors. One example of an Ishihara test is given in FIG. 1. For purposes of illustration, FIG. 1 presents the example Ishihara test in grey scale. However in actual practice this familiar test is a color image that comprises a plurality of colored dots that are arranged on the plate so that certain colored dots form an image, typically the image of a number. On certain plates, the colors that form the numbers are impossible for color blind people to separate from the background dots' colors. A series of different plates is used in the diagnostic process and by noting which plates the test subject successfully identifies or misses, a diagnosis of normal vision or of specific kinds of color impairments can be made.
Many color-vision impaired people speak with anger or strong aversion to the Ishihara test. They feel like the test determines whether you can see some “some secret code.” The correct numbers are something that “normal” people can see, but that you as a color blind person are left out. Their memories of the testing process are often recalled with a sense of embarrassment or shame.
Additionally, the animosity that patients feel toward these traditional test often manifests itself as antipathy toward the test and a lack of effort in trying to answer the test questions correctly. Accordingly, there is need in the art for improved systems and methods for testing for color vision impairment.